ISPs getting faster at removing child porn from the internet

There has been a dramatic reduction in the length of time child porn images remain active on the internet, a new report by the UK’s Internet Watch Foundation reveals.

The UK’s Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) today launched its Annual Report 2010, in which it reveals the success of a new collaborative project to have child sexual abuse images removed from the web faster across the globe.

Results show a dramatic reduction in the length of time these criminal images remain active, down from around a month only a year ago, to an average lifespan of just 12 days today, irrespective of where in the world they are hosted and only a matter of hours if hosted in the UK.

Led by the IWF, which has been operating in the UK since 1996, the project has been implemented together with hotline, industry and law enforcement partners around the world.

The fight to eradicate child abuse from the internet

It seeks to address key challenges in the fight to fully eradicate child sexual abuse content from the internet, including longevity and availability of content, and follows the virtual eradication of such material from UK networks since the IWF’s inception.

“Taking our content removal experience to the global level was a significant challenge and to see such dramatic progress is fantastic,” explained Eve Salomon, IWF chair.

“In every instance where an image is removed quickly, the risk of a child being re-victimised by someone viewing their abuse is substantially reduced.

“Our dedicated team, with the support of the internet industry and international hotlines, is clearly making a significant difference. By developing this strand of our work and combining it with our intelligence of the commercial networks involved, we intend to have an ever-greater impact on the distribution – and especially sale – of images of children being sexually abused,” Salomon said.

The IWF’s Annual Report also reveals a significant development of its understanding of the commercial operations behind the distribution of child sexual abuse images.

It now believes that of the 300 branded sources of commercial child sexual abuse websites that were active during 2010, the 10 most prolific account for at least half of the commercial webpages it has seen.